Chung Ju-yung

Hyundai. Chung, a farmer's son from what is now North Korea, ran a rice shop and a car repair garage before founding Hyundai's construction business in 1947. Government road, dam and overseas contracts built it, and in the early 1970s he started a shipyard at Ulsan while the first ships were still on order. Hyundai's growth relied on state credit and a hard-driven workforce, and the group faced bitter labour disputes. He died in 2001.